Ice formation/adhesion on internal surfaces of devices such as freezers can create problems, especially on freezers that are used for point-of-purchase sales. Ice build-up (resulting from warmer air with moisture entering a freezer) can interfere with the efficiency of a freezer and leave less room for food storage within compartments of the freezer.
With commercial freezers used for point-of-purchase applications, ice build-up is very unattractive for a consumer to see and often interferes with the look and presentation of product being sold. In fact, ice build-up within freezers can cover or hide product, like ice cream, meats and/or frozen vegetables, resulting in product not being selected by a consumer and often spoiling prior to being sold.
Certain freezers need to be put out of service in order to defrost. Other frost-free freezers have heating elements to melt ice which is collected as water, or blow air through the food compartment of the freezer to remove moisture laden air which is known to cause ice build-up.
Still other devices have problems with ice build-up under freezing conditions. Airplanes, automobiles, locking mechanisms as well as electronic switches are additional examples of the types of devices that can fail to function under freezing conditions.
The concern with many defrosting mechanisms is the over use of energy and affordability. Moreover, lowering temperatures of food compartments within devices like freezers typically causes food product quality to inevitably be compromised.
There is an increasing interest to create surfaces that do not display ice build-up and attract condensation under freezing conditions. There is an especially preferred interest in developing freezers that do not display ice build-up within their food storing compartments, especially through mechanisms that do not require additional energy to heat such compartments. Furthermore, there exists a desire to convert devices with poor or no de-icing capabilities into devices that are frost-free without relying on complicated heating or other electrical systems. This invention, therefore, is directed to a surface that displays reduced ice build-up and resists vapor condensation and a method for making the same. The surface typically is prepared from parts or panels that may be treated post or during device manufacturing whereby the parts or panels comprise nanoclusters of aluminum oxide that have been fabricated via a process that comprises at least one electrochemical oxidation step, and an etching or coating step.